A/N: I'll be posting a one-page (6-8 panels/bubbles) comics about Aleksei, but I can't decide on his hair. Which of the three do you think is best for him?

Please ignore the head shapes and just look at the hairdos. Thanks to those of you who respond in the comments and to those who already voted on facebook!

Also, a disclaimer: I mention a town by the name of Pineville. I google searched it and it turned out to be a real place, but the one in this book is fictional, just like Woodville.

PS: The winners of my latest giveaway are at the bottom of this chapter. The next giveaway will be in February, as a part of the Wattpad Block Party with KellyAnneBlount.

*****

"The light green one," Kennedy marched into my room and jumped over my bed amongst the dozens of tops I had on display.

"But I wore it the first time I was at the Milk & Cream," I protested. "Riley has already seen me in it."

"At some point - and given the lack of attire you have in your wardrobe that would be soon - he will have seen you in each of your t-shirts. And without anything on." He wriggled his eyebrows and grinned while I, turning slightly red, balled up a white t-shirt and threw it at him. He caught the almost untangled by the time it reached him top and laughed.

"Just put on the green t-shirt, brother. It looks best on you."

"And is this what you are wearing?" I nodded towards his old jeans and washed out, beloved black t-shirt with splashes of once-been-bright pink, yellow, blue and green.

"No. But the movie doesn't start for another two hours so it's too soon for me to dress up."

"It's closer to an hour and forty-five minutes." I pointed out.

"Yeah, but what if I get my clothes dirty?"

I froze, my head and one of my arms inside the t-shirt, the other arm hanging out, before abruptly pulling the clothing off.

My little brother laughed.

"It won't be the end of the world if you don't go with the perfect outfit, you know."

"Oh, shut up." I crossed my arms over my bare chest.

Should I get fully dressed now and know I was ready to head out or should I put my clothes on right before we left, preventing possible stains?

I sighed.

Even the smallest, everyday decision was like a matter of life or death when Riley was concerned.

And with a good reason. If I couldn't win him over, how would I go on living without him?

"It's summer, it's hot, just don't get dressed yet." Kennedy exhaled and slumped back on the bed, spreading his arms so that he took the shape of a slightly off kilter cross.

"We'll see how you'll act when you meet your mate," I said and began putting the t-shirts back in their place, leaving the green one outside.

"Nah, I'm not a man for a single woman."

I snorted.

Kennedy was extremely loyal even by our standards so flirty or not, there was no way he'd cheat on his mate, whoever she was. He was three years away from the Age of Recognition; would he have to wait for as long as I had to find The One?

*****

"I knew it." I muttered, my head moving from side to side, but my eyes glued to the string of cars before us.

"You knew there would be a car crash?" Kennedy asked from the passenger seat.

"No, I knew we should've gone out early."

"We did." He tilted his head to the side, examining through the windshield the spectacle before us. 

Two large man - probably the drivers of the vehicles that had collided - were shouting and cussing at each other. I noticed a third car stopped nearby, a clean and simple model, with an average looking guy leaning on it and talking on his phone. It had also suffered some damage, but barely; he'd probably been too close when the other two had smashed against one another, resulting in one of the other cars scratching his.

"Well, we should've left even earlier." I insisted, drumming with my fingers over the steering wheel, waiting for all the cars that had been blocked by the accident to stream through a narrow side street to our right until - finally! - it was our turn to do so as well.

"Riley will be all alone, waiting for us..."

"He's not a child, bro." Kennedy tried to reassure me. "Plus, there's popcorn and soft drinks around him; he could be waiting at a lot worse place."

"What if he thinks we've changed our mind and are not going?" I took a left turn into another small street, seeming even tinier with the traffic that was redirected through it.

"He can't be thinking that with the way you've been looking at him."

"How have I been looking at him? How do you know how I've been looking at him?" I snuck a glance towards my youngest sibling. "Kennedy, have you been sneaking out of school to spy on me and Riley?"

He laughed, bright white teeth flashing.

"No. Although I've been tempted to," he casually added and I frowned. "Well, you are taking your sweet while introducing us."

"How many times have we been through this, Kennedy? I have to earn Riley's trust first. I can't do anything before I have that. You weren't with us that night I first saw him; you have no idea how scared he was..."

"... By Alec."

"And by the rest of us." I sighed. My wayward and still missing nephew was making an appearance in my thoughts way more often than I fancied. "Trust first, introducing Riley to my family and telling him he's my mate later."

I turned round another corner and relaxed a tad as I was back on one of the main Woodville roads where the traffic was significantly less.

"How much time until the movie starts?"

Kennedy pulled out his phone.

"Twenty-three minutes."

"Fu..." I clamped my mouth before I finished the word.

"As much as I enjoy your newly found fondness to swearing, chillax, brother; there's plenty of time." Kennedy smiled. "The movie theatre is like five minutes away. Let's call it ten with finding a parking spot."

"We might still be late. What if there's another car crash?" I stepped on the gas, still keeping within the speed limit. "Don't roll your eyes at me. And don't use 'chillax'; it's either 'chill' or 'relax'..."

"Two things you are not." He stated.

"Sorry. I just want everything to go well on our first da... Day out together."

From the corner of my eye, I saw him smirk.

"You were going to say 'date'."

"No I wasn't," I replied, sounding like a stubborn child and looked around the parking lot for an empty spot.

"Yes, you were. There," he pointed at the same time I saw the empty space. I put the car in it and got out.

"How much time?" I was almost running towards the building.

"Fourteen minutes."

I opened the door to the theatre and strode in. I knew Riley was already here; I could feel his presence electrifying the air just like on the first night we met. I took a deep breath, pulled my t-shirt down by the hem and walked towards him.

"Here you are."

My mate turned at my voice and sighed in relief while I silently cussed myself.

I had made him worry.

This date was not going well so far.

And I should really stop calling it a date. I had not asked him out on one; he thought this was casual.

"I'm sorry we didn't come sooner, but there was a car crash on one of the main roads so we had to find an alternative route," I tried to explain, but it sounded as a poor excuse instead.

"That's okay." He seemed more at ease and his gaze moved from me to Kennedy, startling a bit when he saw the boy's eyes - so bright that they almost seemed unnatural.

"Nice t-shirt." Riley nodded toward my brother. He was wearing a black one with a tribal pattern of a grey wolf.

"Thanks!" My sibling flashed him a toothy grin and Riley's eyes rounded. Bright eyes, bright teeth - Kennedy's appearance sure made an impression on my mate. "You have no idea how long I've waited to meet you."

"I've only known your brother for about a month." Riley gave a somewhat confused smile.

"Well, I didn't mean you in particular; I meant Rhys' ma..."

"Kennedy!" I cut the unreasonable teen off. "What did we say about this?"

"Trust first, family stuff later." He rolled his eyes and kicked a red candy wrapper that lay on the floor. "But you are taking too long, Rhys!"

"You need to learn patience, little brother." I admonished, placing my hand over his shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze to let him know I wasn't angry with him. "Let's go get our tickets and some popcorn."

"And sodas," Kennedy added, then turned to my mate. "What's your favorite soda, Riley?"

"Coca-Cola," the older boy replied as we headed towards the ticket booth.

"Mine too." My brother grinned again, happy they already had something in common.

"Three for Rise of the Guardians," I ordered and seeing Riley rummage through his pocket, I added: "My treat."

"No, I couldn't..." My mate began to object. I was ready for that so I opened my mouth to insist on paying for his ticket as well when Kennedy butted in:

"Let Rhys pay, Riley. You know, to make up for forgetting to let you know what time to be here."

Riley gave him a questioning look, one eyebrow raised, so the boy went on:

"If he hadn't told me you were also coming and if I hadn't asked what time we were meeting up, he wouldn't have told you when you should be here. What kind of date would that have been?"

I chocked on my saliva, my stomach muscles contracting as I did my best not to cough and show my mate the panic my sibling's words brought.

What were the odds he didn't hear Kennedy?

None.

Riley stood frozen, one hand clenching a wallet. The only parts of him that were moving were his eyelids, eyelashes fluttering as he blinked in confusion.

If I'd had any doubts - and I'd had many - about whether he'd thought this was a date, they were all gone.

Riley did not consider this a date.

He wouldn't have been so stunned if he had.

I clenched my jaw in an attempt to hide how the corners of my lips had slumped. Straightening up, I forcefully pulled the tickets out of the grip of the man who sold them to me and uttered quietly, but with all the authority of a Beta:

"Kennedy!"

"What?" He asked calmly and rearranged his black baseball cap. "Popcorn time?"

He turned around and made his way towards the concession stand, boldly winking at two girls as he walked.

"Do you know them?" Riley asked and I let out a long breath, grateful he got distracted from the d word.

"I think I've seen them in school." Kennedy shrugged.

"What if they didn't like you?" Riley shot out another question, obviously interested in the younger boy - a thought that made me all warm and fussy inside. This might not be a date, but at least my mate and my sibling got on well. That had to be a good sign.

"Everybody likes me." Kennedy waived through the air as if dismissing the possibility of someone not enjoying his presence. "Three times large popcorn with three big Coca-Colas, please," he ordered from the woman behind the counter before turning back to my mate. "You know, Riley, I'm even Rhys' favorite brother although he tries to treat us equally."

"That's true," I mouthed, barely voicing it when Riley swirled towards me, but Kennedy heard me nevertheless and that cocky smirk which I both loved and sometimes got annoyed with was on his lips in an instant.

"I'll pay for these," Riley insisted when the woman handed us the popcorn and drinks.

"No, I'll pay for everything tonight."

Date or not a date, I'd already set my mind on doing so. I felt this need inside of me, the need to provide for him, coiling in my gut as a bundle of snakes that would not stay put unless I made sure my mate did not lack anything.

"Let me pay for these... Please, Rhys?"

He looked like the sweetest, most innocent thing as he asked and for a moment all I wanted to do was fall to my knees at his feet and answer with 'anything you want, my mate'. I looked down at Kennedy, wordlessly begging for him to give me an advice before I made a fool of myself.

He did not disappoint.

"Let Riley pay this time, Rhys, or he'll feel pretty useless. It would be as if you are saying his money isn't good enough for you and you don't want that, do you, brother?"

Praying my mate did not see me seeking counsel as being weak, I turned to Riley and nodded. To my relief, he grinned and paid the woman.

"Come on or we'll miss the beginning of the movie," Kennedy prompted and charged towards the theater's doors.

I should treat him to something nice later... Maybe take him to the shooting range in nearby Pineville... He's proven very helpful tonight...

"I can't believe I have to give my older brother dating lessons," he muttered.

So much for being helpful!

I spent the next couple of minutes with my eyes focused on my old sneakers. I didn't dare glance at Riley until we were inside and the staff members turned the lights off.

*****

A/N: Coca-Cola or Pepsi?

So, does everybody like Kennedy?

Is Rhys weak for seeking counsel?

What do you think of the chapter as a whole?

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- The person who will see their name in my books is ElgenG

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